"Remember, you are to address me Momon while we are in the city."
"Yes Momon-sama." Ainz put his hands to his helm. How many times did he have to explain this to her?
"Nabe, we are going undercover as normal adventurers. You are to refer to me as Momon. There is no need to add sama, it would draw undue attention to us."
"Yes Momon-saaan." Narberal barely caught herself, it would have to do. He wondered if these two really were the best choice to bring into the city. Ainz, Narberal and Aureole approached the gates of E-Rantel on foot, after teleporting in out of the city's sight. They came from the east, according to the chief of Carne Village adventurers were not respected in the Baharuth Empire. They wouldn't mention it unless necessary, but their cover was they left to become adventurers in Re-Estize.
From the side, they could see a rather long line forming. It would seem that there were inspections being done on those entering the city. The delay would be troublesome, but the obviousness meant it would be easier to ask questions as a newcomer without tarnishing his reputation before it began.
"These lowly fleas dare block our way into the city?"
"What did you say, Nabe?"
"I apologize Aureole, but humans..." Wh-what was with this hostility towards humans? In the presence of her human senior, no less! Aureole kept a cheery face up, but like all the members of Nazarick it held a steely gaze underneath. She at least had the grace not to go on to create a scene.
"It's no problem Nabe. I am unlike these weak humans, an insult to them does not touch me." Not just one but two? Was choosing these two really the best decision? Now was too late to turn back though, they were at the entrance to E-Rantel.
"Hmm, state your business."
"I am Momon. These are my companions, Nabe and Role. We have come to register as adventurers."
"I see...well I shall inform you that a curfew is in effect. The gates to the city will close one hour after sundown, so if you are out on any requests, you can't come back inside between that time and dawn. Since it looks like you have some good gear, I'll tell you that if you rank Silver or above you might end up conscripted into helping guard the breach."
"I understand, thank you for the information."
The trio headed through the streets, Ainz guiding them towards the destroyed areas. He wanted to investigate as thoroughly as possible before any clues were destroyed. There were already teams working on breaking down large chunks of masonry, is seemed most of the smaller debris had already been cleared away. Surreptitiously glancing at the boulders from the wall, it seemed the damage moved from north to south. They also possessed but one clean-cut face, or two like the corner of an X. Whatever did this used a powerful blade to soften up the wall before charging through.
Ainz did not tarry, he could try to investigate more later. Now was his debut, the creation of the foothold from which he would gather more information in the future. Passing into the second zone of the city, he found the Adventurer's Guild. The atmosphere seemed quite high end, despite the nature of the establishment. He went up to the clerk.
"Good morning, my companions and I are here to register as adventurers."
"Ah what timing, we could use more hands." The lady behind the counter looked relieved. "Luckily for you, due to the disaster that has befallen our city, the Guildmaster has waived the registration fees. There is quite a great deal that needs to be done, so you will be able to get to work quite quickly. Tell me your names and your class." She pulled out several sheets and readied a pen.
My name is Momon, I am a warrior."
"Do you have any experience?" Hmm, how should he answer that? He estimated that his strength probably put him around level 30, but he didn't have any skill in swordsmanship. There weren't many points for comparison between the two, from what he learned beginner adventurers were under level 10. It would be too suspicious for him to say something and then display strength far beyond that, people could only be so humble.
"We can easily defeat ogres." Was the phrase he settled on. Ogres were prevalent enough to be common encounters, it would not be strange for that to be the most difficult thing they fought. Though the lack of reaction from the clerk suggested he aimed a little too low. Should he have named one of the creatures that Aura found in the forest? It was too late now. Narberal and Aureole introduced themselves.
"I am Nabe, I am an offensive magic caster."
"My name is Role and I use support magic."
"Two magic casters? Well, if you make up for each other's weaknesses it makes sense, but it's still a rarity. I would suggest you find someone like a ranger to help with your non-combat skills, but other than that, you should do fine." She gave them the name of an inn where they would find adventurers around their level to help fill out the gaps in their party. She also told them that a large amount of money had been allocated to the rewards for killing monsters in the surrounding areas.
With their copper plates, the newly minted adventurers left the guild to the inn suggested by the lady. Narberal did not understand why this course of action was necessary.
"Nabe, do you not remember why we are adventurers? Those with of the Adamantite class are respected and can make powerful connections. It will be much easier to attain information once we reach that rank."
"If we take worms with us won't that only slow us down?"
"Ah, I get it! He wants to show these worthless people just how strong he is."
"Indeed, and for that we will need others to spread stories about our exploits." Well at least one of them understood. It might be tough getting three people to merge with an existing team, but the best way to spread rumors would be to group up with others temporarily. That way, after separating they would still be a legitimate group of adventurers that could praise them. Ainz planned to repeat this process until gathering a suitable amount of renown.
Upon entering the dingy inn, it became clear this would be a difficult task. The Copper and Iron plates here, they simply looked too unreliable! They'd get more fame hunting down brigands than by being associated with these folks. Would it be better to just set out monster hunting alone? No, unless they returned with something like a rare spawn or miniboss there would be absolutely no recognition in this. Oh, perhaps he could get Aura to send a beast to fight him! No, that was no good, anyone could finish off a dying creature. Ainz was shaking his head when there came a clatter.
"Why are you looking at us like that? Are you little weaklings jealous?" Aureole was confronting a table of adventurers who had been staring at them. Why did so many NPCs of Nazarick have such a personality, weren't their creators humans too?
"Ehhh? Whose the weakling, you Copper plate? You're just some unblooded girl with a pretty face."
"A puny thing like you doesn't understand strength."
"Role, calm yourself." This was getting out of hand, he didn't want their reputation to start as being troublemakers, that sort of thing would definitely haunt them. Ainz turned to the Iron plates, hopefully he could smooth this over. "I hope you can forgive her, she is quite impulsive at times."
"Yeah she's really stressed me and my buds out. Why don't you pay for our drinks as compensation, you know, as a gesture of goodwill?" Shameless, this man was simply shameless. By the quantity of mugs on the table, paying for their drinks would severely impact the funds they had on hand. Of course even if he had the wealth of Nazarick at his disposal, not one coin would have gone to this rude man.
"An apology will suffice." Role looked to him and sighed before bowing her head and giving a heartfelt apology. Ainz could feel dissonance with her prior insults, but at least it was sincere.
"Just an apology? You with your armor, you certainly got enough money to pay. When you make a mistake, you gotta pay up." The rough man had risen from his seat and was attempting to intimidate Ainz, who looked down on the smaller man from his fortress-like armor. Wordlessly, Ainz heaved the man over his shoulder and tossed him across the room, before turning to the less boisterous drinkers.
"I am sorry for interrupting your drinking. It seems there is nothing here for us." No companions to be found here, but he preformed a moderate feat of strength. That would etch himself into the minds of others at least a little. He turned to leave with Narberal and Aureole following behind.
"Hey Armor, don't you walk out of here!" This time it was a woman's voice. What now? "You broke my potion! That guy was just trying to stiff you, but my potion is broken! I saved up for weeks to get that!"
"Well it seems I am at fault once again." Playing it humble may mitigate a bit of the negative reputation. Ainz needed to rectify this, but didn't know how to do so. Funds were low and he didn't know how much a potion cost in this world, so he may show his ignorance. On the other hand, he didn't recognize the potion. In Yggdrasil bottle shape helped identify potions, although there were several decorative skins. The blue also didn't match the typical shades he knew of. Information was key.
"What sort of potion was it?"
"A healing potion." A blue healing potion? That seemed like it would be a rare item, but she was an Iron plate. Maybe it was actually a defected potion that looked blue? Magic wasn't very advanced here, so perhaps even weak potions would do. Yes, his own Lesser Health Potion should be equivalent.
"Here you are. With that my debt is resolved." She suspiciously eyed the potion, but accepted it. Good.
Leaving the inn, he felt a little frustrated. Why not spend a little time doing live training?
"Nabe, Role, let us head to the forest and see what we can encounter."
AN: I can't stay up until midnight every day! What foolish precedent was I trying to set? I have other things to write as too!
Ah well, such is the naïveté of weekend inspiration.